Pokei-Mon: Dark Ages

[oceanblack]

Pokéi: Dark Ages

At the dawn of existence, it is said Arceus was born. It was a beast of unimaginable power and wisdom. Legends say Arceus created many other powerful creatures to govern the foundation of the universe. There were the dragons of Time, Space, and Dimension. There were the spirits of Willpower, Knowledge, and Emotion. And these creatures begat the other various avatars of this world, as Arceus lay dormant.

Eons later, this world is inhabited by many exotic creatures, including mankind. While man excelled in knowledge of crafts and technology, the beasts of the wilds - known as Pokéi - maintain dominance by sheer power. Man has had many dangerous encounters with Pokéi as they try to expand civilization, but more dangerous still are the other nations of man clashing with one another. They wield the powers of Pokéi, by means of complex magic spells, and struggle for dominance of the entire region.

...

In the corridors of Kanto castle, the king lay dead. The cause is quite apparently murder, but by whom? The king's son, Prince Gregor, intends to find out. On the day of his coming of age festival, he and his closest friend Sybil set out to avenge the death of Lord Kanto. What the do not realize, however, is that not only the faith of his father's kingdom, but of all of creation itself is balancing on a razor's edge, and the two of them will be put in charge of saving the entire world. It's a daunting task, but they will not be working alone to make the world a better place...

CONCEPT:
A very different kind of Pokémon game, using FireRed/LeafGreen as the base, but set in a very different era. Sword and Sorcery meets Cute and Cuddly, with a ragged edge.

FEATURES:

• 6 Playable Characters, with moves/attributes based on Pokémon mechanics.
• 200+ Pokéi (Pokémon before they were "pocket monsters")
• Lots of twists!

TEAM MEMBERS:
OceanBlack - Project Leader, Visionary, Art/Sprites

ALLIES (not full-time members):
InMooseWeTrust

This project is still in Alpha stage, but is coming along well. Concept art will be put up in the near future. Check back occasionally for updates!

 

[h POKE]

This is one of my currently running ideas I've been toying with. It's kinda long for an intro, I hope you guys like it.

"Legends say that at the Dawn of Time, Alpha was born from nothingness. Alpha (called 'Arceus' in the ancient languages) proceeded to create the first titans that would shape the universe. zzzzz... Try not to stick to that old story, because it can get EXTREMELY boring to read it over and over. Take something from actual mythology if you have to. Time, Space, and Dimension were first born from Arceus, which would become the foundations for the physical universe. Then born were Willpower, Knowledge, and Emotion, which would become the foundations for the minds of living beings. With these foundations set in place, Arceus went into eternal slumber. So basically the Sinnoh myth? You're going to need a different root than that if you're trying to write an original story.

Eons later, the Continents and Sea Basins would shape the world, and the Sky enclosed land and sea together. Now the HOENN myth? Don't tell me you're going to tie everything together and use all the regions together. The first lifeforms came into being, simple creatures called mew, and populated the world. The world was plentiful and beautiful, and the mew lived happily, exploring their myriad powers as prototype lifeforms. They would begin transforming over the ages into a wide variety of different creatures, all with different distinct abilities. Different, but certainly nothing to make me want to continue reading this. So far I've seen nothing of any value or interest in this story. Scholars even believe that primordial mankind is derived from the mew, and that they possessed gifts greater than all the other creatures. Advanced mental capacity No mind control. Do not put mind control into this story. and communication skills, and an innate ability to manipulate their environment to their benefit. It reminds me of AZ's story, in a weird way.

...

Years later, humans are the dominant species in the world. There exist possibly hundreds of other monsters, called Pokei in the ancient language, The whole ancient language thing is just kind of annoying, in my opinion. and the mew are so rare now they become the stuff of legend. The human nations clash against one another now, using advanced magic Magic and pokemon do not mix. That is, only if that "magic is for things like pokeballs and stuff. I think only Illusioon used standard RPG elments like weapons, so... to harness the powers of Pokei in single combat.

You take the role of either Kiki or Gregor, friends from the village of Kanto. Uhh... no. You just can't use that name. What begins on their fifteenth birthdays Again with the cliches. Not everything important in a person's life has to happen on their birthday. as a simple rite of passage into a tribe or something? will escalate into an epic conflict where the primordial forces of the universe itself come into conflict with humanity. What will happen when all civilization is shaken to the core by ancient covenants?" A boring story results. What happens in the game? All you've written is a backstory, which provides absolutely no information about the in-game events.

So what we have here is a pokemon game in a very different timeline from Generations 1/3 and 2/4 umm... if the timelines are different, why are the myths so similar?, actually several hundred to a thousand years before. Ohh... okay. Does that mean you're going to incorporate all the regions? because that would be a baaaad idea. I want to do something different, but I have very few of the mechanics planned out yet. Anyone interested? Lemme know in reply or PM! :]

Kind of boring. If you want to do something different, come up with a story and original myth. Also, not many people are going to be intersted when there are no screens, and no new features... not to mention not much story.

 

[oceanblack]

Well yeah its boring because this is a very prototype idea. Youve decided a lot of rules about what I should write without understanding underlying details though. I know this may be because I havent provided enough details enough, but I wasnt sure how much the first post should drag on. In regards to some of your comments...

zzzzz... Try not to stick to that old story, because it can get EXTREMELY boring to read it over and over. Take something from actual mythology if you have to.
But... this is a pokemon story. Based on pokemon mythology. If that bores you, then dont bother getting involved in my POKEMON project, lmao.

No mind control. Do not put mind control into this story.
Did i freakin say mind control!!?! When did humans ever have mind control. All i meant was that humans appear to be more intelligent than a large number of pokemon, demonstrated by advanced technology, languages, etc... Mind control? what the heck, lol.

The whole ancient language thing is just kind of annoying, in my opinion.
Umm... that was rather vague and not very constructive. I'm sorry? No one in modern times speak the same languages from ages past. And Im using the term Pokei as opposed to pokemon because in the timeline of this game, humans havent created the pokeball yet, and therefore there are no "pocket monsters" so... i made up a similar term for recognition's sake, but unique on its own as well.

Magic and pokemon do not mix. That is, only if that "magic is for things like pokeballs and stuff. I think only Illusioon used standard RPG elments like weapons, so...
Magic may not be the best term for me to have used here, I admit that. But the way battle will be handled in the game will be between humans that harness the powers of pokemon, instead of between pokemon themselves. Vocabulary such as this will change as need be.

Uhh... no. You just can't use that name.
Why not? The idea is that this little village would eventually expand over the years and become the Kanto region, full of the towns we know in the gen 1 games. If its a copyright thing, then... Why dont I just give up making a pokemon game, lol. But just a flat "you cant use that name" isnt very constructive either.

Again with the cliches. Not everything important in a person's life has to happen on their birthday.
into a tribe or something?
Yes, its going to be a tribal society with low technology. You may think it cliche, but it has been a pivotal part of human history for a rite of passage in which a person's social status will change from child to adult. And because it was so important in the middle ages and earlier, I felt it would be a fitting beginning for my story.

A boring story results. What happens in the game? All you've written is a backstory, which provides absolutely no information about the in-game events.
I know that it doesnt. All I was TRYING to provide was a backstory so far. If I could catch someone with the idea of a dark ages pokemon game, i was going to go into more of the in-game events, because i have thought of quite a few, which i will begin posting about soon if i dont get too many "this idea is boring and lame" responses -__-;

umm... if the timelines are different, why are the myths so similar?
... this question doesnt make any sense. myths are based on ideas about events in the past. the same myths will carry on through the ages (see: religion) The myths about the ancient legendary pokemon were formed long ago, and in my game, they will be explored more.

Ohh... okay. Does that mean you're going to incorporate all the regions? because that would be a baaaad idea.
Why? Yeah, that would make it a pretty big project, but that doesnt scare me. Yeah, I might need to take a little bit of liberty as far as storyline might be concerned, but this is my personal interpretation of events that havent literally happened in pokemon canon, since the games dont give a detailed history of human life before the games.

With all that being said, I do know that a lack of graphics isnt going to help catch people. Once I get my scanner fixed though, I am going to try to put up some pictures, probably within a few days.

*wipes brow* phwew, lol

 

[ckret2]

I, for one, think it has a potential to be an interesting idea; sure, all you've got is backstory so far, but it's backstory that leads up to a historic Pokémon setting, something set in dark ages, which is quite a new environment and has the potential to be very exciting. The use of Pokémon (or Pokei? heh) for battle won't be formalized into the rigidly structured "gym leader" system yet; organized crime (if it exists at this point) will more likely take the form of bands of marauders, nomadic tribes, than the modern form of Team Whatever; and there are all sorts of opportunities to get the characters and story closer to the myths at the root of modern Pokémon culture, even if all that is still historic even at the time of this story.

I'm picturing a timeframe a little bit like the flashback shown in the Lucario movie; would that be close to what you're picturing, or would it be farther back in time even from that?

As for incorporating all the regions, it IS a bad idea, even for experienced hackers. Part of it, of course, is that the regions are really huge and so it would take a long time to remake them all. But, more importantly than that, there just isn't enough space on a rom to hold all the maps. Even after a rom has been expanded, holding four regions--and getting them to connect to each other and populating them with scripted characters and items and events--is pretty much impossible.

In addition, you want to be careful about saying that, because attempting to stuff four regions in one game is the mark of a noob. The bad kind of noob. The kind that dances in and goes "lolol im gunna maek a game wit all teh regionz an itz gunna have all teh legendairiez but i dont kno how 2 maek a game any1 want 2 help me plzzzz?" And then the "project" is dropped within a week when the noob gets bored.

What I'd recommend is maybe including pieces of regions--say, where the sides of regions actually connect (like between Kanto and Johto) or along coasts, if your character happens to come from a village that's good at navigating the seas. Then you could have a more normal-sized region that still incorporates pieces of the others. Besides, if this is dark ages times, transportation isn't going to be very good, lodging is going to be scarce, and Pokémon Centers are going to be not-yet-existant. Someone with so many restrictions wouldn't be able to travel around to four immense regions, and it wouldn't be very practical either. Besides, that far back, not all of the world is going to be explorable, especially by one person.

And about the supposed "boring" mythology at the beginning; you're right, it's part of Pokémon mythology and shouldn't be ignored as such. However, you might not need to mention it, unless the creation myth is very important to the plot--like, the rite of passage ritual is directly connected to their beliefs of the old myths. Even then, in the actual hack you'll only need to mention the myths in passing, with brief explanations, since pretty much everyone who'll play the hack will already know the story.

Anyway, I like the idea, and I hope this helps some!

 

[oceanblack]

Thanks for your input!

Instead of quoting your whole first paragraph, I will just say: "Yes." lol

The timeframe would be pretty close to the flashback youre talking about, it definitely had an inspiring factor in this story. I'm debating if it should resemble the high middle ages (shining knights in jousting competitions, kings with huge castles and lots of peasants, and so on) or a slightly more primal setting. I may just mix elements since this is the history of a completely seperate world from earth, and could make an itneresting story, I dont wanna limit flavor elements here.

Well... Since you put it that way, I can understand why combining the regions would be a daunting task. I mean... I know I'm a noob to the rom-hacking aspect, so I admit all ignorance about that. I just thought that a ROM could expanded to any size if enough data is there, but if an emulator wont play a rom if its too big, then I get why it would be impossible in that respect. If rom size isnt an issue, and I could find a way, then I would love to find a way to connect the regions together (via flying pokemon?). I definitely wouldnt attempt to redraw the entire world map into one enormous network with all the routes connecting between regions and stuff. That does sound pretty ridiculous, lmao.

I like your idea of connecting portions of the regions; that does sound good. I feel like pointing out though that even in pretty ancient times, the Vikings had some pretty sophisticated modes of aquatic travel. Its even been recently discovered that as far back as the ancient greeks are ships of tremendous proportion and navigability. But thats niether here nor there ;) Actually, even in the super sophisticated age of pokemon as we know it, people really rough it when they travel as if it were an older age. Wheres all the cars, amiright? lol.

Actually, the creation myths and legendary pokemon are all going to be very important to the plot, and the rites of passage, and all that. I dont plan on talking about them constantly to the point of being redundant though. But I do plan on explaining the myth in detail at the beginning of the game (instead of chatting with the professor, lol) but i only want to explain enough to move the story along. our heroes are going to be clashing directly with a large number of legendary pokei, and I want to explain enough about them to make sense as a standalone game, yknow? i want this to be a game people can play while theoretically having never played another pokemon game, and stuff in it still makes sense.

I know Im a poor dumb noob about the mechanical parts of this process, but I have lots of story ideas and I dont abandon them out of boredom. Pokei: DA Will be a pretty huge project, but I dont believe in producing mediocre works. I'm just going to be spending a really long time learning the ins and outs of rom hacking.

I'm glad you like the idea, and your input really has helped me.

 

[Vrai]

Well, this appears to be a thread full of long posts, so I'll just do a short one.

The storyline seems to be thoroughly thought out, and it sounds like you're willing to go to the ends of the earth (not really :P) to learn the ins and outs of hacking. Not bad. ^^

If you're ever in need of help for something, know I'm here, 'kay? :D

 

[oceanblack]

Nice short little post, how cute :D

err... I mean, thanks! hehe. I definitely want to make my own game, i have ever since I got pokemon red for christmas of '98. It means a lot to me to finish a rom project in my future, even if its not this specific one (I do have several other pretty involved ideas, including an Earthbound remake, and a fighting game)

I really appreciate it, I would love to have someone with hacking experience to help me get my feet wet and figure this stuff out, cuz I'm fairly confused at the moment D: I'm gonna go back to drawing for tonight though, lol...

 

[Vrai]

Nice short little post, how cute :D

err... I mean, thanks! hehe. I definitely want to make my own game, i have ever since I got pokemon red for christmas of '98. It means a lot to me to finish a rom project in my future, even if its not this specific one (I do have several other pretty involved ideas, including an Earthbound remake, and a fighting game)

I really appreciate it, I would love to have someone with hacking experience to help me get my feet wet and figure this stuff out, cuz I'm fairly confused at the moment D: I'm gonna go back to drawing for tonight though, lol...

ZOMG! I remember getting Red in the Christmas of '98! Of course, I was four back then, but that's beside the point. (I remember when I first got it, I couldn't figure out how to get out of the freaking house. I mean, what four-year old would understand that the little red box was a doormat?)

Well, if you have a question, just shoot. Even if I don't know, I'm sure one of the peepz that I'm friends with does. ^^

 

[oceanblack]

I appreciate it much, Vrai :15:

I think I'm going to use either Leaf Green or Emerald as the basis for this hack. Do you know much about those games? You should PM me or add me on messenger ;)

Yeah.. Im a couple years older than you, so getting through pokemon wasnt that daunting a challenge, lol.

I've actually been working on this project all day today. Still not a lot of mechanics yet (itll be a while before I start hacking, sadly :'() but Ive fleshed out a lot more of the story, have my character cast set now. If I add more about those parts to this thread, I'll be sure to update it all in the original post. <3